When Conrail employees rode the Conrail Office Car Special, they often expressed a great appreciation for the opportunity to do so. In the case of this former Conrail employee, he realized just how lucky he was to be on the train that day. Below is his story.

“When I worked for the railroad, riding Conrail’s OCS was always a big deal. If nothing else, it got me out of the office for a day. It almost always provided excellent food and wonderful service. It did, at times, become a bit crowded, but that was part of the experience. The train also provided an outstanding place to escape the crush: the vestibules.

For those not familiar with railroad passenger cars, many of them had an area at the top of the stairs at either end which was not inside the car but was separated from the interior by a door. Once at the top of the stairs the trap door could be dropped and the outer door swung closed. Many of these doors were Dutch doors, split about waist high top from bottom. This means a person could ride leaning on the bottom half of the door and watching the scenery go by. It was always one of my favorite places to be on the OCS. The breeze did tend to blow one’s hair around, but that was a small price to pay for the experience.

I had been invited to act as a host on this OCS trip for new hires. It was early afternoon. The train had departed Philadelphia’s 30th St. Station and headed north to the Chemical Coast. From there we went west toward Easton and down the Valley to Reading where we would turn to head back to Philadelphia. It was an ambitious itinerary, but full of great things to see.

During lunch we crossed the Delaware River and worked our way through Easton and Bethlehem. I grabbed a beer from the bar and headed for the vestibule. I loved standing there and watching the scenery roll by. It was October, I think, so the air had enough chill to remind you that you were alive but it was not cold enough to be uncomfortable. As we neared Allentown we encountered several grade crossings, requiring us to slow down. The slower speed stopped the blurring of the up close scenery and allowed me to enjoy the details.

At one crossing there was a dad in the family car with his kids in the back seat. He was dealing with two emotions, I think. He was annoyed that he had to waste time sitting there waiting for the train to clear the crossing, but he had never seen a train like this one. For him, I reckon it was like watching a circus train roll by. His expression revealed that he was amazed, trying to figure out what wonders were passing in front of his car.

As the train rolled over the crossing Dad and I briefly made eye contact. For one of the few times in my life I was looking at somebody who, for the moment at least, wished he was in my shoes. In our instant of eye contact I could tell how much he wanted to be standing in that vestibule with a beer in his hand and watching the city of Allentown pass by. I kind of felt like Lou Gehrig. I was the luckiest man in the world.”

Conrail 4020 and 4021 lead a Conrail Office Car Special at Birdsboro, PA

If you are interested in Conrail passenger operations, read about how Conrail operated their OCS train, including stories from those with first hand knowledge. Check back soon for other Conrail Office Car articles by Wes Reminder.

- sources: Special thanks to Rod Miller for allowing me to use his photo and to the former Conrail employee that shared his Conrail OCS trip experience.

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